Semi-final preview: Stars v Scorchers

24 January 2017

Melbourne Stars Media

The Melbourne Stars will face the Perth Scorchers in their Semi-Final at the WACA tonight in the race for a spot in the Big Final.

Match Summary

It’s a do or die game for us at the Furnace against the Scorchers who finished top the BBL ladder. The winner of tonight’s Semi will face either the Heat or the Sixers in the Big Final and we know the Scorchers will be just as determined as we are to win that spot. We’re expecting one feisty game tonight so make sure you’re primed and ready by 7.30pm with all the action kicking off LIVE on Channel 10.

BBL|06 Form

Melbourne Stars

4 WINS / 4 LOSSES / FINISHED 4TH

We had a bit of an up and down season in BBL|06, but we did have some close losses that could have gone either way. With some of our boys in and out of the team because of international duties, we’ve seen some new faces debut and make a real impact and we’ll need all of our boys who take the field tonight to be at their best. We’ve seen the team absolutely dominate in games this season when they’ve been at their absolute best and we’re going to need another performance like these ones to overcome the Scorchers.

Perth Scorchers

5 WINS / 3 LOSSES / FINISHED 1ST

The Scorchers came out on top this season after just three losses, including one against our boys. A very balanced team with serious talent with both the bat and ball mean they’ve been hard to beat. The Scorchers’ last game against the Hurricanes was one of their best so they are in form, and as Big Bash finals specialists, we definitely have a task on our hands tonight!

The Rivalry

Since the beginning of the Big Bash competition, we’ve played the Scorchers ten times already, including four Semi-Final clashes so tonight is no new situation for either team. Head-to-head we’ve come out on top, winning six games to the Scorchers’ four, with our boys taking bragging rights for the last three matches.

The Ground

The Furnace is a hard ground to win at for any team and we currently have a 50% win rate since the introduction of the Big Bash. The Scorchers are the most successful team in the competition, which is partly due to their ability to dominate at their home ground. We’ve played four Semi-Finals against the boys in orange throughout the last six seasons and we have lost all three placed at the WACA. But, even though the stats are slightly against us, we know the boys are pumped and primed for their clash tonight. Bring it on!

Ones to Watch

Rob Quiney

Bobby has had a blinder of a season for #TeamGreen and we just know that he will be at his very best tonight. With the most sixes, the highest score and the biggest strike rate out of our boys, Bobby will be an absolute weapon that the Scorchers will be on the hunt for tonight. But we know Bobby is up for the challenge so all we can say is look out Scorchers!

Michael Klinger

If we’ve learned anything from BBL|06 it’s that if Michael Klinger has a good knock for the Scorchers, they prove very, very hard to beat. With the most runs and the highest score for the Scorchers all season, he will no doubt be a major target for our bowlers in their attack at the WACA. If we want to make sure we’re there for that Big Final then we need to stop Klinger before he really starts smashing them around the ground as he can win games off his own bat.